Trying to Save my Favorite Character from His Tragic Fate

Phanes narrows her eyes when she looks at Kyrie but soon softens back her eyes. She kneels and hands over half a small loaf of bread. 

"Sorry, but this is all I have," says Phanes, "Please eat this to gain some strength to go on."

Phanes looks at Ian, who is still sleeping on Kyrie's shoulder. 

"Thank you," Kyrie takes the bread from Phanes's hands.

Kyrie's eyes land on the man next to her. 

[Erebus.]

Erebus smiles brightly as he tousles Kyrie's hair.

Phanes remarks, "I hope that you guys can be sincere with each other."

Kyrie stares at them, shocked. Not only is Phanes, who is supposed to be dead, in front of him, but also Erebus, who has been described in the novel to be evil and merciless. Knowing that both of them are gods in front of him, he wonders if both of them are listening to his inner thoughts. 

Nonetheless, Phanes's words reach his heart. Is that the power of gods?

Ian lifts his head from Kyrie's shoulders and looks around. Finding Ian's sleepy face adorable, Kyrie chuckles at Ian's dried up drool that trails down to his jaw from the corner of his mouth. 

A man whose upper body is only covered by an open leather waistcoat comes into their small group. His chest and jacked abdomen are in plain sight.

"Ah! You guys are awake!" he says.

Kyrie suddenly has the compulsion to want to close the waistcoat for him while covering Ian's eyes at the same time.

The man continues, "Don't fight again for food. If you are hungry, you can just tell us."

Ian's eyes turn to Kyrie as a sign to ask him what is going on. However, from Kyrie's confusion, Ian takes it as if Kyrie also does not know. After listening for some time to the barely dressed man whose name is Eric, they get an idea of what is going on with the group.

They are currently with two groups of adventurers who went into the dungeon. After getting lost inside the labyrinth for a week, two groups found each other. They have stayed together ever since. The food source is running low, and according to them, Kyrie and Ian fought for food.

They look at each other and don't find that they have changed their appearance. However, both groups recognize them as their own members. Phanes, Erebus, and Eric do not react like they are strangers, but instead, friendly like they know them for some time.

After listening to this annoying man blab about all sorts of things, they walk away to where they are sure that nobody can eavesdrop on them and sit on the rows of rocks.

"It seems that we got into some kind of illusion of the past," says Kyrie knowing that traveling through time and space is way too much for a relic to accomplish.

This is exactly what happened according to the folktale. It seems that both of them are inside the story.

"Are the two couples Phanes and Erebus?" asks Ian after matching Phanes's image with the carvings of the bell tower's doors.

Kyrie nods.

"What are we going to do now?" asks Ian.

"I think it is best if we follow Phanes and Erebus no matter what happens. After all, they solved the labyrinth."

"Hmm…" 

Ian looks at Kyrie's profile. Kyrie, noticing Ian's stare, glances back. 

"What is it?" asks Kyrie.

"Do you like jacked men?" asks Ian.

"Hmmm? Jacked men?" Kyrie answers, flabbergasted by Ian's sudden questioning.

"You were staring way too intensely at that man's body," expresses Ian.

Kyrie is out of words. 

Did he?

"I am only interested in you, Ian."

Kyrie pursing his lips while showing off his puppy eyes. 

A silence suddenly invades between them.

"Do you?" asks Ian again, this time in a deeper tone with some underlying irritation in his voice.

Kyrie is not evading the questions this time!

Kyrie stiffens at Ian's sudden seriousness over such an unreasonable accusation. This man still does not know that Kyrie willingly crossed worlds for him. 

However, he is not willing to just let Ian throw these accusations at him.

"If I say I do, would you show me your body?" Kyrie's eyebrows lift coquettishly at Ian.

"Shameless!" Ian murmurs under his breath and pouts, turning his head away from Kyrie angrily.

Kyrie walks in front of Ian and kneels, but Ian refuses to look at him.

[What has gotten into Ian this time?]

Kyrie chuckles and holds onto Ian's wrist. Ian's frown softens and looks at Kyrie in confusion as Kyrie pulls his arms towards himself.

Kyrie lifts his shirt slightly, and he slides Ian's hand under his shirt to let him touch his abdomen.

"Well? Do you like mine?"

Ian turns his head to Kyrie with his eyes wide open. He quickly withdraws his hand from Kyrie's hold and blushes while checking if the group saw them. He can still feel on his fingertips the defined muscles on Kyrie's abdomen. 

Ian looks away. His ears beam red.

Kyrie tries to move so that Ian faces him, but Ian would move his head around to avoid his gaze. Kyrie pitifully shakes Ian's thigh slightly to give him some attention.

"Ian… Come on, Ian… You know I am only interested in you… Ian…" Kyrie starts to beg.

"You don't tell me anything. You always hide it inside yourself. Why are we together if you are never going to share?!" Ian remarks.

"What do you want to know?" Kyrie starts to panic and says it out loud without much thought. 

However, he immediately regrets it. 

But it's out.

Ian grins and starts his questioning. He doesn't want to ask heavy topics first, so he wants to start asking something they could share.

"What is your favorite book?"

Kyrie looks at Ian with a pause while Ian glances Kyrie on the peripheral of his eyes. His hands start to feel moist. He runs his hands on his thighs back and forth and decides firmly on what he is going to say.

"Returning time to save you."

Ian is surprised that Kyrie is sharing the title of a book that has nothing to do with magic after some thinking. After all, Ian only has seen Kyrie read about magic all the time during the academy.

"Hm? I never heard of such a book. What is it about?"

"It's about a protagonist who returns to the same time frame to try to save the one she loves."

"I see… Do you like the book because of the protagonist?"

"No… I like the side character, who always follows her."

"Why?"

Kyrie pauses for a bit and looks at Ian's eyes deeply.

"Because his story saved me…"

"I see…" Ian's mood drops. "What is he like?"

"In the beginning, he is weak and tragic, but then, he chooses to overcome his weakness. He never gives up, and always finds the courage to stand back up again."

Ian smiles and says, "I would like to read that story as well… To learn about the character that grabbed your attention more than the protagonist."

"Yeah," Kyrie lets out a smile, tenderly, "I hope that I could still stay by your side when that happens."

"What do you mean by still?"

Kyrie lets out a soft laugh.

"There you are!" Phanes exclaims, "Aren't you troublemakers!"

Her face is filled with irritation. Erebus is behind her.